Communication plays a crucial role in successful family planning, HIV prevention, and other health and development programs. Communication often is thought of as the production of messages and materials, such as posters or brochures. Effective communication programs that motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles use a systematic process and require long-term commitment, however. Such behavior change communication (BCC) programs have helped millions of people, according to the latest issue of Population Reports, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Using a mix of three major communication channels-mass media, interpersonal channels, and community channels-BCC programs increase awareness about common health problems, influence societal attitudes and norms, and promote healthy behaviors, according to "Communication for Better Health," just published by the INFO Project at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. According to the comprehensive 28-page report, successful BCC programs use a systematic process and behavioral theory to develop messages tailored to specific audiences. More than 100 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for contraception, and communication is one of the best ways to address underlying reasons, including social acceptability of contraception and worries about contraceptive side effects. BCC programs are also critical for reducing stigma about people living with HIV and educating people about ways that the HIV virus is spread and how to avoid it.
Illustrating the steps in planning, carrying out, and evaluating BCC programs, the report provides diverse examples of well-executed programs, including an Ethiopian radio drama promoting HIV awareness and contraceptive use and an Egyptian project combining mass media, interpersonal communication, and community-level channels to reach young married couples with timely messages about postpartum care and family planning.
* Although "Communication for Better Health" and its two companion INFO reports issues, "Tools for Behavior Change Communication" and "Entertainment-Education for Better Health," focus on reproductive health-related BCC programs, the basic principles and processes apply to all fields of health and development. The three reports give a thorough summary of the steps needed to plan, execute, and monitor and evaluate a BCC program, including details about the following:
* A systematic and proven process that guides planning and implementation and helps to avoid mistakes and achieve intended results
* A scale-up of BCC activities and the cost effectiveness of doing so
* The development of audience profiles, messages, and good-quality materials that will move the audience
A measurement of progress toward objectives and various types of evaluation designs
Tips on how to manage entertainment-education projects within the framework of the general process for delivering communication programming
A media relations strategies to reach the public.